United's strongman is at fault fortwo goals and sent off for second time against Liverpool

Nemanja Vidic, hailed as the best defender
in the Premier League by Manchester United
manager Sir Alex Ferguson, failed to live up to
his billing with a horror show at Old Trafford
yesterday as the title race was rekindled.

Vidic took the blame for the shocking
mistake that handed Fernando Torres the
chance to cancel out Cristiano Ronaldo's
penalty opener and the Serb strongman was
later sent off as Liverpool cruised to their
biggest win at United since 1936.

Foul play: Steven Gerrard is brought down by Nemanja Vidic

Steven Gerrard, Fabio Aurelio and Andreas Dossena also scored as United's lead was cut to up a potentially thrilling climax to the campaign.

For Vidic, it was an absolute nightmare. The colossus at the heart of Fergie's back four paid a high price for hesitating and then being outpaced by Torres for Liverpool's first goal. He got no sympathy from his manager.

'He's a human being and he made a mistake,' growled Sir Alex. 'Unfortunately for us, it was a costly one.'

It got worse for Vidic when he hauled down Gerrard and was sent off, earning his second red card against Liverpool this season. He was walking down the tunnel as Aurelio curled in Liverpool's third goal from the resulting free-kick and Fergie added: 'I couldn't argue. Gerrard was clear to have a shot on goal.'

The defeat was United's heaviest at home since 1992 but a defiant Ferguson said: 'When you lose, you have to rebound. That is the way it has always been at this club. I would have taken a four-point advantage with a game in hand at the start of the season.'

It had been a must-win match for Rafa Benitez but he resisted the temptation to crow after winning at Old Trafford for the first time.

Off you go: Referee Alan Wiley shows a red card to Nemanja Vidic

The Liverpool manager has faced stern criticism after having a go at Ferguson in January but, after putting eight goals past Real Madrid and Manchester United in the space of four days, Benitez was in more conciliatory mood.

He said: 'Ferguson is a great manager and I respect him. But was talking facts about him. Nobody disagreed with what I said. I am optimistic about the title but also realistic. We needed to beat United. Now we can win every game left and see what happens. We won this battle but we have to try to win the war. That is more important.'

Liverpool completed their first double over United since 2002 and a delighted Gerrard said: 'It was our biggest win at Old Trafford since 1936. That says it all, what a magnificent result.

'We had a plan to play higher up the pitch than usual because we needed to win and didn't want to be negative. Even when we went a goal down, we had belief.

'Fernando Torres is magic, the best striker in the world, and if we can keep him fit for the rest of the season, it will be an exciting finish. We need to stay on United's tail and hope they slip up. I hope this result gives United's next few opponents the confidence to have a go because we've shown they can be beaten.'

Gerrard celebrated putting Liverpool ahead from the penalty spot just before half-time by kissing a pitchside TV camera. I've had stick from United fans for 10 years so it was nice to be able to win and rub it in,' he said.